updated 04:45 pm EST, Thu January 3, 2008

N95 gets YouTube, widgets

A new update for Nokia's 8GB N95 smartphone adds some features conspicuously similar to that of the iPhone. The v15.0.015 firmware firstly adds support for YouTube, which on the iPhone and iPod touch is given a dedicated browser; on the N95 however, users must visit the site through the phone's web browser. The update also finally lets N95 owners run web widgets, which are present on the iPhone in the form of the Weather and Stocks applications.

Although released earlier, the N95 has frequently been considered a rival to the iPhone, mainly due to shared abilities such as music and video playback or nearly desktop-level web browsing. The recent 8GB N95 -- which is not yet officially available for the US -- may be intended as a direct strike at the iPhone, since both devices have the same, abnormally high amount of built-in storage. [viaSymbian-Guru]

Dream on

If you think this 'thing' is a rival to the iPhone simply because its got 8Gb and can play a few tunes you've got a serious wake up call headed your way. I've seen this 'wonder' of a phone. A seriously wonderful clunky, un-elegantly, and profusely confusing piece of junk. NEXT!

Has anyone used one?

The N95 stinks!. Really! I live in Australia and wanted an iPhone but figured with no 3G and only 2MP etc it's not that great, and I i'd have to hack it an no warranty etc. So, I bought an N95, having always wanted a GPS.

1) It's a slider phone, the slider must be open to get GPS satelite coverage, so you can't lock the keypad and put it in your pocket, so it's no use to track walks etc.

2) GPS makes the battery last 2 hours max, whats the point?

3) 3G data is fast, but the web browser interface is very slow and clunky, using the directional pad to move a tiny arrow arround a webpage. VERY sluggish. BUT you can download files.

7) 5MP Camera incredibly slow and laggy shutter. If everyone stays still it's a good shot for a phone though.

So to sum up, I bought it, fought it for a few weeks because I loved the loud speakers and video mode, but then I used an iPod touch available here, went home and eBay'ed the N95 straight away. Got an iPhone from Mac-Pro.com with a dead pixel, had $300 left over.

No 3G, but it's faster to get around the web because of the phone. And really excellent battery life, Google Maps does the job.

If the GPS had worked, hadn't taken 10 mins to lock onto satelites, and didn't require a paid anual subscription for turn by turn directions, then I might have kept it, but using the GPS will kill the battery in 2 hours, then what do you do? You end up lost in the wilderness with a flat phone that can't call emergency services. I'll go with the iphone, with no GPS, and enjoy having a battery that lasts all day.